Briones calls for third party monitoring of 2010 budget

February 12, 2010

FORMER national treasure Leonor Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines and a Congressional candidate under party-list Kaakbay, called on Congressmen and Senators to fully exercise their power of the purse over the 2010 national budget by supporting monitoring of public funds by civil society groups.

“The work of Congress and Senate does not stop on passing the budget. President Gloria Arroyo has approved the P1.54 trillion budget for 2010; and it is within times of economic crises and national elections. This means more work of Senators and Congressmen to ensure that the budget are actually released to the most vulnerable sectors of society,” Briones said. “This is a crucial fiscal year as diversion of public funds is rampant during election period,” she added.

Briones explained that fair and transparent monitoring of the budget can only be done by a third party that is impartial and not dominated by political considerations. “This refers to civil society groups who have been tracking the release and utilization of the budget from the national government down the communities,” Briones said.

She warned that there is no third-party monitoring in the Philippines. “The Philippine budget system is based on a decree by the dictatorial regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. The constitution mandates the President to veto specific items in the budget bill created by the Senate and House of Representatives . On the implementation of the approved budget, the President can transfer items as deemed necessary,” Briones explained.

“This kind of system, which has no check and balance, breeds corruption, monopoly and tax evasion and hampers the government’s efforts to attain pro-poor targets,” she added.

Briones leads over a hundred citizens’ organizations on a campaign for increased spending for social services through the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI). Through ABI, civil society and legislators work together in formulating and lobbing for alternative budget proposals for increased allocation for education, health, agriculture and the environment.

“The ABI was successful in pushing Congress to form a Joint Legislative Oversight on the Budget with citizens’ participation because there is a need for Senators and Congressmen to rigorously monitor the release and utilization of public funds. Yet, both Houses still need to operationalize the Budget Oversight Committee and to include civil society groups during budget oversight,” she said.

“Civil society and legislators should work together to finally institutionalize third party monitoring in the country because poverty alleviation rests upon how the national budget is crafted and implemented,” Briones said.

Briones, is globally acclaimed for leading sectoral groups on pioneering campaigns for transparency, accountability and people’s participation in the budget process. She is the Philippine ambassador to the W8 which is a group of women leaders talking to heads of the richest countries to live up to their promises to help poor nations finance social development programs.

She was also chosen by Kaakbay Partylist as one of their candidates because of her longstanding dedication and leadership role in efforts to achieve the country’s commitment to end the worst forms of human deprivation through the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) such as the eradication of extreme poverty, achieving quality education, realizing universal healthcare services and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Budget advocates welcome Congress’ passage of P1.541 Trillion 2010 Nat’l budget

December 22, 2009

Laud Congress but warned ‘Malacanang may impound alternative budget proposals’

BUDGET advocates on Tuesday welcomed Congress’ approval of the P1.541 Trillion national budget which included some of civil society’s alternative budget proposals for health, education, agriculture and the environment.

Former National Treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines which organized the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), said while Congress’ version was not their idea of a “responsive budget”, the fact that some of their alternative budget proposals were adopted means there is an increasing level of awareness among lawmakers about the role of civil society in the budget process.

ABI, a consortium of 60 nongovernment organizations that actively engage the government in the budget process has been calling for increased budget allocation for social and economic services.

For 2010, the ABI proposed an additional P25.23 billion budget for health, education, agriculture and environment sectors which they deem will be crucial for the Filipinos to survive the impacts of the global financial crisis and climate change.

Some of the “budget gains” identified by ABI are the P1.093-billion increase from the proposed P11.097 billion to 12.190 billion in the budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as proposed by the Philippine Senate.

The policy research and advocacy group La Liga Policy Institute (La Liga) had earlier proposed to retain the DENR’s budget to its 2009 level as against Malacanang’s proposal to slash the agency’s budget by P2 billion.

On top of retaining some important budget items under the environment and natural resources sector, La Liga also proposed an additional budget of P11.14 billion to finance specific climate change mitigation and adaptation measures that will make the 2010 national budget “climate sensitive.” The group, which acts as the secretariat of the Environment Cluster of ABI also lauded lawmakers who adopted their proposal to fund the rehabilitation of some of the country’s protected areas and national parks.

Jonathan Ronquillo, Envi Campaigner of La Liga said the P1.093 billion increase in the DENR’s budget should be able to provide financing for critical conservation and rehabilitation programs for the environment.

For her part, Merci Ferrer of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) of ABI’s Health Cluster, meanwhile expressed elation over Congress’ adoption of their proposals, which resulted in an increase of P565.96 million, which include P20 million for environment and occupational health, P100 million for the expanded program for immunization, P50 million for rabies control, P20 million for national epidemiological and disease surveillance, P100 million for the autoclaves, and P35.87 million for health human resource development.

The increase in the budget for education consistent with civil society’s alternative budget proposal amounted to P843.91million, which include proposal for increases of P500 million for alternative learning system and P100 million for human resources training and development.

For the Agriculture Sector, the Bicameral Conference Committee also increased the budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) by P1.98 billion.

With Congress’ approval of the 2010 national budget, Briones said it is now up to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to sign the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and make sure that the budget items are released on time.

“For once, Pres. Arroyo should act as President by respecting the system of check and balance. It is time she respects Congress’ power of the purse and make sure that the budgets are released according to their purpose as determined by Congress,” Briones said.

According to Briones, signing the 2010 national budget will be considered by civil society as Pres. Arroyo’s gift this Christmas, with the hope that in the last six months of her term, some of the budgets allocated by Congress, including those that were impounded in 2008, will finally be released.

“She better watch out. This is her last term as President and so is her last chance to show, at least for once, her statesmanship,” Briones said.

Briones warned Arroyo of exercising her veto power to erase the increases in the budget for critical social development programs, saying too much is at stake. She said the government needs to enact a 2010 national budget to fast track the government’s rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-affected areas, particularly in Metro Manila and Luzon.

She also warned Congress not to be complacent as their power of the purse can be eroded by Pres. Arroyo by placing certain budget items under conditional veto. The release of funds for budget items under conditional veto, such as budget increases made by Congress, will be subject to the discretion of the President.

“Under conventional veto, some budget items may end up being impounded by the Office of the President. This will mean that the next President may or may not release the budget and later on transfer the fund to use it for other purposes,” she said

Rice NGO pushes for increased social protection for farmers

October 13, 2009

Non-government organization Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) today urged the House of Representatives and the Senate to allocate P830 million from the 2010 agriculture budget for social protection to help the farmers cope and recover from the impact of extreme weather conditions due to global warming.

“The lessons of devastations brought about by the last two typhoons, especially Pepeng are clear markings on the walls both for the government and the Filipinos’ capacity to respond to the threats of climate change. The poor farmers will always be helpless victims unless the government prioritizes social protection for the farmers,” said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, R1 lead convenor.

R1 submitted its agriculture budget proposal, along with the other proposals of the Social Watch Philippines’ Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), to Rep. Junie Cua, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Cantos said their proposal focused on community-based and indigenous rain water collection through Small Water-Impounding Project (SWIP). Each costs P50,000 that may be placed in every hectare of rice land. R1 proposed that the government provide SWIP for 10,000 hectares amounting to a total of P500 million.

“We do not want to see a major irrigation project becoming useless for lack of water during the dry season while water is wasted as runoff during the wet season. We have seen palay waiting for harvest lay wasted after being submerged in flooded farms due to intense rains during the rainy months. On the other hand, the threat of El Niño during the dry season will lead to soil desertification, leaving the soil virtually useless for planting,” explained Cantos.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported yesterday that damage to the agriculture sector caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” has reached P10 billion.
Losses in rice were recorded in all provinces of the Cordilleras and the Ilocos region, Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya in Cagayan Valley, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga in Central Luzon, Albay and Camarines Norte in Bicol.

About 35,207 hectares were reportedly completely damaged while 150,558 hectares may recover. The Value of destroyed harvestable palay is close to P5 billion, while investment of farmers who lost crops in seedling/vegetative stage amounts to P81 million.

Initial studies conducted by R1 found that the effects of climate change can be neutralized by a simple change in the farming system. Some experts consulted by R1 recommended possible adjustment in the cropping calendar, appropriate extension work to increase the farmers’ resiliency against the vagaries of the weather, and direct soil fertilization to manage the deficiency in soil nutrients due to massive chemical fertilization and pesticide inputs.

R1 proposed additional funding for PHILRICE worth P250 million to create a Task Force on Climate Change that will cover training costs, resource persons, module and training materials addressing 30 rice-producing provinces.

“Farmers experienced crop losses, low yields and even greater pest infestations brought about by these extreme climatological events. This may potentially lead to higher grain prices that will also endanger their livelihood,” Cantos said.

Also included in the agriculture budget proposal of R1 are adequate funding for crop insurance with easier access to small farmers, elimination of the subsidies for hybrid seeds and to seriously assess the effectiveness of devolved agriculture extension services among the local government units.

DBM source of data on impounded funds

October 9, 2009

Civil society calls for release of other impounded funds to save people from disasters

 

The data on the P140 billion Overall Savings from impounded funds is based on documents supplied by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to Congress and the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the 2008 Appropriations.

Members of the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) reminded Malacanang officials about this when they expressed ignorance on the whereabouts of the P140 billion funds impounded by President Gloria Arroyo which can be partially used to increase the calamity fund instead of releasing a supplemental budget.

“The details on the overall savings are on pages 714 to 723 of the NEP 2010,” said former national treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines (SWP) which organized the ABI. “In 2008, President Arroyo transferred P178 billion from different agencies to overall savings. On the other hand, a total of P38 billion was transferred from Overall Savings to different agencies. This resulted to a net transfer of P140 billion which are recorded as Unreleased Appropriations. Presumably, this amount is carried over to 2009,” Briones added.

Briones also said that, instead of a supplemental budget that would only increase the country’s deficit, Malacanang can use the remaining balances in the Special Purpose Funds (SPFs) and accumulated savings which are handled by the Office of the President through the DBM. “We can look at the calamity fund and contingency fund, which are under SPF, to be able to respond to the disasters. Details on the calamity fund are on pages 669 to 671 of the NEP, while contingency fund details are on pages 672 to 673,” Briones said.

Meanwhile, Isagani Serrano, vice president of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and one of the heads of the ABI-Environment Group, said that they are horrified by the response of Budget Chief Rolando Andaya that the said amount is an “amount only in paper”.

“We are talking about people’s hard-earned money here. They cannot just allocate public funds, impound it, and say that the amount is non-existent and just in paper,” Serrano said. “While it is true that the amounts are listed in paper, they are translated into cash once the President authorize the release of these budget items and the DBM process its release,” he said.

“Millions of Filipinos are already in harm’s way due to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Government should immediately use these impounded funds to save and protect our communities from extreme weather conditions,” Serrano added.

The ABI presented a list of impounded funds during the House Committee on Appropriations’ special hearing on ABI’s alternative budget proposals. This includes funds for health and agriculture programs in the 2008 budget such as P1.8 billion for family health, P400 million for the tuberculosis program, P100 million for purchase of autoclaves, P100 million for the promotion of organic agriculture and P2 million for training for system of rice intensification (SRI) small farmers; and funds in the 2009 General Appropriations Act (GAA) including P95 million for Protected Areas and Wildlife Management and P1 billion for reforestation.

Committee on Appropriations Vice Chair Edcel Lagman echoed the ABI’s call in his sponsorship speech during the plenary debates on the 2010 national budget. “Once impounded as “forced savings” congressional initiative allocations may never see the light of day or the impounded amounts constitute an off-budget new lump sum which can be used by the Executive to fund projects which may not even find anchorage in the General Appropriations Act,” Lagman said.

The ABI also called Congress to advise the Executive to be transparent and report any transfer of funds to calamity funds. “The Commission on Audit (COA) reported lack of information on budget documents such as the pooled savings in 2007 amounting to P106.11 billion from net of transfer from one agency to another and from one SPF to another which cannot be verified due to lack of supporting documents,” Briones said.

“The COA also reported realignment of Funds without Authority such as savings on electricity and fuel which were used to pay transportation and rice subsidy without request for realignment,” Briones said.

The ABI, a consortium of 60 nongovernment organizations led by Social Watch Philippines, is globally acknowledged for initiating civil society-legislature partnership for alternative budget proposals for increased allocation for health, agriculture, environment and education.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS SUPPORTS CAMPAIGN FOR 2010 ALTERNATIVE BUDGET

October 4, 2009

THE House Committee on Appropriations proved its support for people’s participation in the budget process by conducting a special hearing for civil society groups’ alternative budget proposals for 2010. During the hearing, the Committee, chaired by Cong. Junie Cua, agreed to look into the proposed realignment of funds for social development programs. They also agreed to raise the issue of impoundment of funds done by the Office of the President.

“Members of the Alternative Budget Initiative or ABI are really thankful to Cong. Cua and Cong. Edcel Lagman and the entire Committee on Appropriations for including civil society groups in budget deliberations and conducting a special hearing on our alternative budget proposals every year for already three years,” said former national treasurer Leonor Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines which organized the ABI.

“Civil society groups could not have been able to push for a total of P5.3 billion additional allocations for social development in the 2007 budget, P6.3 billion increases in the budget for environment, agriculture, education and health in the 2008 budget and P7.7. billion increases for critical socioeconomic programs in the 2009 budget if the Committee on Appropriations has ignored our campaign,” Briones added.

Impoundment of Congressional Initiatives 

During the meeting on the alternative budget, Cong. Lagman and Congressman Teofisto Guingona III proposed that Congress should issue a provision against impoundment of budget items by the executive.

Members of the Committee were dismayed that certain budget items that were included in the General Appropriations Act through the initiative of legislators are not being released. These congressional insertions in the national budget include the additional allocations for health, environment, agriculture and education proposed by the ABI.

The ABI reported to the Committee that the budget for socioeconomic programs in the 2008 and 2009 General Appropriations Act (GAA) were not released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Among the impounded funds in the 2008 GAA includes P1.8 billion for Family Health, P400 million for Tuberculosis Program, P100 million for autoclaves; P100 million for the promotion of organic agriculture under the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and P2 million for training for system of rice intensification (SRI) under PhilRice.

Meanwhile, budget items for the environment in the 2009 GAA are also not being released. This includes P95 million for Protected Areas and Wildlife Management and P1 billion for reforestation.

“The legislators’ initiatives in the budget are approved for political purposes, but the actual funds for these budget items are not being released. This is happening because President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in 2008, introduced the notion of conditional vet where the release of Congress’ initiatives in the budget has to be with her approval. She combined this with her power to impound certain budget items and move them to her direction,” Briones explained.

“The President always intervenes with the release of funds. The Commission on Audit already reported that she has transferred funds for departments such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Agriculture to Special Purpose Funds which are under the control of the President. Once the budget items have changed identity, they are already out of reach of Congress,” she added.

Cong. Guingona III said that the Senate and House of Representatives should join forces against the issue of impoundment of funds.

Alternative Budget Proposal for 2010

“We are very encouraged by the proposal of Cong. Edcel Lagman that the Congressmen adopt our entire alternative budget proposal for 2010 and hope that the new administration in 2010 will not impound our proposed budget items anymore,” said Rene Raya of Action for Economic Reforms (AER).

The ABI proposed a total of P25.2 billion additional allocations for health, agriculture, environment and education. The group also proposed a total of P50 billion alternative sources of financing to be able to increase the budget for social development. The alternative sources of financing includes Special Purpose Funds, Unprogrammed Funds and other budget items which are lump-sumps in nature, highly discretionary, have no clear mechanisms for accountability in utilization and have vague or redundant purpose.

The Committee on Appropriations agreed to look at the personnel benefits fund, tax expenditure fund, and interest payments to scrutinize alternative sources of financing. The Congressmen also agreed that the most ideal strategy to minimize borrowings is the rational reallocation of the budget.

Meanwhile, Raya said that the proposed alternative budget for education targets investing in teachers for quality education, providing access to education, and achieving functional literacy for all. “The country’s international standing in education has been significantly eroded. UNESCO’s Education Development Index (EDI) for year 2008 ranked the Philippines 75th among 125 countries, falling behind most Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Many studies have actually been done which point to the same problems related to resources, efficiency and governance,” he said.

Hazel Tanchuling of Rice Watch and Action Network said that the alternative budget proposal for agriculture will ensure crop insurance, reduction of fertilizer and seeds subsidy and thorough study of the devolution of agriculture extension work. “More than half of the rural population is poor and we are more and more becoming food insecure. What is more important for agriculture is ensuring that spending is cost effective, promotes sustainable agriculture practices and educates farmers to climate proof their farms,” said Tanchuling.

For the health sector, Mercy Fabros of WomanHealth Philippines said that the Philippines has the worst health performance in Asia, with infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR) being among the highest in the region. Their alternative budget proposal will address problems on infant and maternal mortality, unmet family planning needs, child mortality, tuberculosis, rabies, hazardous hospital/medical wastes, phase out of mercury in all government hospitals and human resource issues in the public health sector.

Meanwhile, Jonathan of La Liga Policy Institute said that the alternative budget proposals for environment call for critical climate change financing priorities. This includes renewable/sustainable energy systems; biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry; clean and green industrial technology; ecological waste management; and disaster response and risk reduction.

PhP 11.4 billion more needed in 2010 to save Filipinos from floods and storms

September 29, 2009

The Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) said that a total of P11.4 billion additional funding for climate change actions is needed in the 2010 national budget to protect Filipinos from the impact of extreme weather conditions caused by climate change such as the Typhoon Ondoy.

“The Philippines is naturally prone to climate change and the safety of many people can be summarized in three words: ‘Climate Change Financing’,” said former national treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines (SWP) which organized the ABI. “The wrath of Ondoy should serve as a wake-up call for government to be climate-change sensitive and to finally adopt the budget for climate change mitigation and adaptation proposed by the ABI’s environment group,” she added.

The ABI, a consortium of 60 non government organizations (NGOs) globally acknowledged for initiating legislator-civil society partnerships for more allocation for environment, education, agriculture and health, has been calling for more funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation measurers since 2006.

The ABI environment group, led by the La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI) and Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), proposed that Philippine Government should add a total of P11.4 billion in certain items in the 2010 budget in order to become climate change sensitive. This includes budget for (1) Climate Change Commission for the finalization of the Philippine climate change action framework and plan; and, for piloting of climate change initiatives in the top ten high risk provinces; (2) harmonization of existing programs to a national climate change action framework and plan; (3) climate change actions within the agriculture sector; (4) orientation of DENR programs, operations and activities towards climate change actions.; and (5) pro-active, not just reactive, programs responding to climate related disasters.

“Changing climate may have caused the recent unusual flood in the capital region but government has big responsibility for its devastating impacts on people especially the poor. We are in harm’s way already considering our poverty situation, the unmanaged wastes that clog waterways, silted rivers due to severe land degradation of the National Capital Region’s watersheds, pollution of Manila Bay etc. Our vulnerability to extreme weather events like abnormal rains increases with government failure to enforce policies that protect our communities and make them more resilient,” said Isagani Serrano, PRRM vice president and SWP convenor.

The ABI’s alternative budget proposal for the environment referred to the Philippine Climate and Weather-Related Risk Map of the Manila Observatory and Department of Environment and Natural Resources. According to the map on provincial-level risks to typhoons, drought caused by El Niño, projected rainfall change and projected temperature increase, the top ten provinces in terms of risk are: Albay, Pampanga, Ifugao, Sorsogon, Biliran, Rizal, Northern Samar, Cavite, Masbate, and Laguna. In general, the regions of Central Luzon and Bicol rank high to very-high on the risk scale.

“Data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) shows that in the past ten years (1999-2009), a total of 32.6 million Filipinos have already been affected by environment-related disasters with an economic damage cost estimated at P131.2 billion. We urge government to think of sustainability instead of short term gains and consider budget increase for environment as an urgent matter,” Serrano said.

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Congress challenged to assert more power on the 2010 budget

September 13, 2009

Social Watch Philippines (SWP) challenged Senators and Congressmen to strongly assert their power of the purse as the design of the 2010 national budget proposed by President Gloria Arroyo allows the legislature to review only P845 billion of the P1.54 trillion allocations.

 Former national treasurer and SWP lead convenor Leonor Magtolis Briones said that the new appropriations is only P914 billion of the P1.54 trillion budget. Deducting the unprogrammed funds in new appropriations, the allocation to be scrutinized by congress is only P845 billion.

 “Comparing 2009 and 2010 budget in terms of total obligations, the budget is P114 billion higher now. Yet, the new appropriations that Congress has to act on is P3.774 billion less than what they had to act on in 2009.” said Briones. 

 Briones also warned that that the increases in the 2010 budget are out of reach of the legislature, while the decreases in the budget will affect the agencies which the legislature reviews.

 “The increases are in budget items which cannot be touched by legislature. This includes the Automatic Appropriations which increased by P123 billion and the SPF which increased by P166 billion. Meanwhile, the budget for departments, which the legislature reviews, decreased by 51 billion,” Briones said.

 She added that the budget for Departments is only 42.77 percent, while the budget for Special Purpose Funds (SPF), which is generally under the control of the executive and will not be reviewed by Congress, is 57.23 percent.

 “Right now, the arena for the legislature’s engagement with the executive is even smaller with the smaller budget that the legislature can touch. It lays the question of who really holds the power of the purse. What is clear is that the power of release is with the President,” Briones, who is Oxfam’s Ambassador to the G8, said.

 SWP, through the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) campaign, which is a partnership among 60 civil society groups and legislators formulating alternative budget proposals for more allocations for social development, called on Congress and the Commission on Audit (COA) to meticulously scrutinize the SPF. ABI has been campaigning for the realignment of SPF, which includes budget items without clear, identifiable and useful purpose, to allocations for social development programs.

 “While the extent of Congressional intervention in the proposed budget is heavily compromised by the fact that New General Appropriations is only 59% of the budget, Senators and Congressmen can still make significant improvement to ensure that an expenditure program which is viable and responsive to current economic conditions and social development needs of the country is adopted,” Briones said.

 Briones reported that nongovernment groups, partner legislators, the Congressional Planning and Budget Division (CPBD) and the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO ), in a meeting held recently, also agreed to help each other in guarding the 2010 budget by broadening civil society participation in Congressional budget deliberation. This will be done through exchange of information, joint analyses of the Executive’s proposed budget and development of alternative budget proposals.

Rene Raya of Action for Economic Reforms said that the ABI is also calling on Congress to strengthen oversight function of the legislature to curtail wastage in government spending. “This can be done through the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Budget, the creation of which was agreed upon by the Bi-Cameral Conference Committee on the 2009 Budget on January 2009,” Raya said.

 “We also plead that Congress prioritize legislative budget reform initiatives, which already started early this year with the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Finance on the impoundment control bills,” Raya added.

 

Social and economic services not prioritized in 2010 budget; Civil society and legislators put forward alternative budget proposals

September 10, 2009 Social Watch Philippines (SWP) warned that millions may plunge into poverty next year as economic and social services are not priorities in the proposed 2010 national budget.  Former National Treasurer and SWP lead convenor Leonor Magtolis Briones noted that the budget for Social Services increased by only P27.7 billion. Allocations for Economic Services, which includes agriculture, environment, trade, power and energy and water resources decreased by P25 billion. The total budget for Departments was also reduced by P51 billion. Meanwhile, the greatest increase was in Debt Service-Interest Payments which is P88 billion more than last year.  “Figures clearly show that the that the eight percent increase in the budget for 2010 is not geared towards greater spending for programs that will have the greatest impact on economic and social development,” Briones added.  She explained that the increase in the budget is due to higher amounts for Automatic Appropriations and Special Purpose Funds (SPF) which increased by P123 billion and P166 billion, respectively. SWP has been consistently calling for the realignment of SPF which are unreasonably big budget items with no special provisions and are highly discretionary.  She also warned that out of P914 billion new general appropriations, the Programmed Appropriations, or the budget available for release in 2010 is only P845. The remaining P69 billion is Unprogrammed Appropriations which can only be used if there are additional funding.   “The proposed 2010 expenditure program is a ‘maintenance’ budget and not designed to lay ‘the groundwork for a full-scale revving up of the economy in the coming years’ as proclaimed in the President’s Budget Message,” Briones said  With this warning, 60 nongovernment organizations led by SWP, yesterday (September 10) presented their alternative budget proposals for the 2010 national budget to legislators in a meeting in Quezon City. Civil society groups and legislators, through the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) campaign has been formulating and lobbying for increased allocation for health, agriculture, environment and education.  Among those who attended the meeting for the alternative budget proposals are Congressman Roilo Golez, Congressman Teofisto Guingona III. Also present were senior legislative staff of Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda and Allan Peter Cayetano and Representatives Edcel Lagman, Ronaldo Zamora, Alfonso Umali Jr. and Lorenzo Tanada III. A director of the Congressional Planning and Budget Division (CPBD) and a senior staff of the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO) also participated in the meeting.  “We are very happy that legislators are supporting our alternative budget proposals,” said Rene Raya of Action for Economic Reforms (AER). “This provides a bit of hope for 12.2 million hungry Filipinos, especially when the magnitude of poor population among basic sectors has been steadily increasing.” he added.  A total of P5.3 billion allocations for social development and P6.3 billion for environment, agriculture, education and health were added in the national budget in 2007 and 2008 respectively as proposed through the ABI. For the 2009, ABI was able to push for P7.7. billion increases in the budget for social and economic services.

2010 budget dependent on heavy borrowings

September 07, 2009

Social Watch Philippines (SWP) said that the 2010 budget deficit target of P233.4 billion will require over P660 billion new borrowings.

Former National Treasurer and SWP co-convenor Leonor Magtolis Briones said that government plans to borrow almost thrice the amount of the deficit target for next year. Of the P660 billion new borrowings, P185 billion will come from foreign sources while P475 billion will be sourced domestically.

“Government is borrowing much more than what is required to fund the gap in the budget to pay principal amortization on prior years’ debts,” Briones explained.

Briones pointed out that P405 billion, or two-thirds, of these borrowings will go to principal amortization. This, she added, belies the claim in the Budget Message that significant progress has been made on strengthening debt management over the past five years.

The concern of SWP, according to Briones, is the impact of these borrowings on financing critical social development not only next year but in succeeding years as well. She explained that debt interest payment corners a big chunk of public resources, leaving little room for government to fund programs necessary to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Briones, currently a professor of public administration at the University of the Philippines, also expressed apprehension on deficit targets for 2010. It is based on a revenue target of P1.336 trillion.

“Assuming revenues will grow by as much as 7.8 % next year may be too much. It could very well lay the groundwork for either higher deficit or cuts in spending for productive expenditures,” Briones concluded.

Social Watch Philippines is part of the international Social Watch network which monitors and advocates financing for development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SWP spearheaded the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), a network of 60 non-government organizations advocating for adequate funding for education, agriculture, environment, health and monitoring financing for social development.

 

2010 budget assumptions untenable; revisions necessary – Social Watch Philippines

July 16, 2009

Soon after her SONA speech, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will submit to Congress her proposed 2010 budget. Social Watch Philippines (SWP) warned that 2010 targets on revenues, expenditures and deficit are unrealistic and that formulating next year’s budget with these assumptions will push the country to fiscal crisis.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Call, which was issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) last May to guide all agencies in the formulation of their budget, projects next year’s deficit to reach P173.3 billion. This is based on the assumption that government revenues will reach P1.403 trillion while disbursements will amount to P1.576 trillion.

“The signs that there will be serious setbacks in meeting the fiscal targets for 2010 are already apparent this year. The DBCC already increased, yet again, the deficit target for 2009 to P250 billion but revenue collections are still below target, with P18 billion shortfall for the first quarter. Financing this deficit through more borrowings will siphon not only this years’ budget but also the budget for next year,” Leonor Magtolis Briones, Lead Convenor of SWP, explained.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised its growth forecast for 2009 from 6.5% to 7.3% to a lower range of 0.8% to 1.8%. The deficit target was also revised several times from the original zero deficit in the 2009 Budget Call, to P250 billion as of June this year.

Briones also explained that SWP, through the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), raised the dangers of using unsound assumptions in the 2009 budget. Prior to the adoption of last year’s General Appropriations Act, ABI called for adjustments in the budget citing that the P1.39 billion expected revenue is likely overstated, that the expected P302.65 billion interest payment for debt is likely understated and that the expected P40 billion budget deficit is likely understated.

“Mrs. Arroyo should refrain from proposing to Congress a 2010 budget that is not viable. Making legislators believe that there are viable sources to fund a budget bloated by questionable, unnecessary and redundant items will push the country further to unmanageable deficits and eventually drain funds that should otherwise be used to critical social development to the benefit of the poor,” Briones said.

Last week, DBM Secretary Rolando Andaya, Jr. said he was “disappointed and alarmed” by the collection shortfall of the Bureaus of Customs and Internal Revenue. He also said that it is “understandable” that the collecting agencies are missing their targets due to the economic slowdown.

“While the economic slowdown certainly contributes to the poor revenue performance, we believe that inefficiencies in tax administration, such as tax evasion and misplaced fiscal incentives, still have yet to be decisively addressed by the authorities and it is severely hurting us now,” Briones pointed out.

Social Watch Philippines is part of the international Social Watch network which monitors and advocates financing for development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SWP spearheaded the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), a network of 60 non-government organizations advocating and monitoring government’s budget for education, agriculture, environment, health and campaigning for budget reforms.